Sector movers: Supermarket stocks gain despite OFT ruling
30th Nov 2012 13:00
The food and drug retail sector was on the up on Friday afternoon with supermarket stocks performing well in spite of the regulatory ruling that brings 'yo-yo pricing' to an end. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been investigating food pricing display and promotional practices by some of the bi
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rise on low volumes
22nd Nov 2012 16:52
- Trading light as US celebrates Thanksgiving - Focus shifts to EU summit - SABMiller jumps; 'Glenstrata' merger approved With trading volumes light owing to Thanksgiving, upbeat Chinese manufacturing data saw UK markets finish Thursday's session with decent gains in spite of the ongoing uncertaint
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: SABMiller jumps after beating forecasts
22nd Nov 2012 15:34
SABMiller, one of the world's largest brewers, rose into the top spot after it managed to beat analysts' forecasts in the first half as its hiked its interim dividend by 12 per cent. The company reported revenue of $17,476m in the six months to the end of September, up 11% on $15,688m reported the
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Middle-East ceasefire, Supermarkets, Standard Life...
22nd Nov 2012 06:52
Israel and the Islamist Hamas group agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday, ending a bloody eight-day conflict in and around the Gaza Strip that has claimed the lives of at least 152 Palestinians and five Israelis. The truce was announced in Cairo by Mohammed Kamel Amr, the Egyptian f
Read moreBroker tips: BP, Melrose, Morrison
16th Nov 2012 11:32
Nomura has maintained its 'neutral' rating and 455p target price for oil giant BP following Thursday's 4.5bn-pound settlement with US regulators. The broker said that in order to become more positive on BP, it would need to see a greater evidence of an "operational and financial turnaround". "An u
Read moreBroker snap: UBS downgrades Morrison to 'neutral'
16th Nov 2012 10:49
UBS has cut its recommendation for supermarket giant Morrison from 'buy' to 'neutral', saying that the stock's sector premium is perhaps not appropriate right now. The broker said: "Morrison remains a business with admirable qualities, operating in an industry which, in our view, is less overtly ho
Read moreFriday broker round-up -UPDATE
16th Nov 2012 07:22
Anglo American: Deutsche Bank cuts target price from 2600p to 2520p and reiterates a buy rating. Atkins: JP Morgan Cazenove reduces target price from 862p to 859p, overweight rating maintained. Bodycote: Investec raises target price from 400p to 410p, buy recommendation remains unchanged. Brammer
Read moreFriday broker round-up
9th Nov 2012 09:50
Balfour Beatty: Credit Suisse downgrades to neutral, target cut from 361p to 275p; Citi downgrades to neutral, target cut from 372p to 270p. Big Yellow: Citi downgrades to neutral, target lifted from 330p to 360p. Dairy Crest: JPMorgan Cazenove initiates coverage with overweight rating and 404p ta
Read moreBroker snap: Morrison's underperformance expected to continue
8th Nov 2012 16:39
Seymour Pierce has reiterated its 'reduce' rating for supermarket group Morrison and a weakened trading performance in the third quarter, saying that the forecast risk is 'still on the downside'. Sales for the 13 weeks to the end of October were up 0.2% with like-for-like (LFL) sales excluding VAT
Read moreThursday broker round-up
8th Nov 2012 09:01
AB Foods: Credit Suisse ups tagged from 1,300p to 1,450p, outperform rating kept. Aviva: Panmure Gordon keeps buy rating and 425p target. Balfour Beatty: Panmure Gordon keeps buy rating and 310p target. BTG: Jefferies keeps hold rating and 360p target; Panmure Gordon keeps hold rating and 400p t
Read moreLondon open: Stocks edge higher after Greece votes on austerity
8th Nov 2012 08:23
Stocks rebounded on Thursday morning, albeit only slightly, following steep falls the day before, after Greece voted in favour of its strict austerity measures. Wednesday's session started strongly after Barack Obama was re-elected as the US President, sparking speculation that easing measures woul
Read moreMorrisons serves up below par fare
8th Nov 2012 07:14
As predicted, Morrisons has produced an underwhelming third-quarter update, saying that sales were lower than anticipated, although it did say that its full-year financial performance will be 'broadly in line with our expectations'. In the quarter to October 28th, total sales excluding fuel were do
Read moreThursday preview: MPC expected to keep its powder dry
7th Nov 2012 15:55
Despite an incredibly busy company results schedule on Thursday, investors will be forgiven for being a touch distracted as they wait for the Bank of England's decision on its asset purchase programme (quantitative easing, or QE), due out at noon. Though the suspicion is that there is a sizeable mi
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Pearson, Bank of England, Tesco
7th Nov 2012 07:16
Pearson, the FTSE 100 media group, is planning to explore a sale of the financial daily newspaper within months, Bloomberg reported, so that the company can focus on its fast-growing education division. Dame Majorie Scardino, the chief executive of Pearson, once said famously that the FT would be so
Read moreLondon close: Stocks taken down by global uncertainty
5th Nov 2012 16:49
- All eyes turn to the US elections - Greece attempts to agree on austerity - UK and US services PMI disappoint After a sharp fall early on, the FTSE 100 traded broadly sideways for the remainder of Monday's session as investors refrained from building positions ahead of a busy week for the global
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